The Kruger National Park’s Veterinary Wildlife Service Department will from tomorrow (3 July 2012) begin with the final process of a Bovine Tuberculosis (BTB) research project, which started in 2008 in the park in order to determine the effect of the disease on free ranging buffalos.

BTB is an alien disease which entered the park as result of buffalo contact with BTB infected livestock in the mid 1950’s outside the park and it poses a big threat to conservation of biodiversity. In 2008 an extensive research project was initiated in the park in order to gain some understanding of BTB and its effect on buffalo. A sample of about 200 buffalos was selected, captured and fitted with radio-collars so that they can be re-captured at six monthly intervals for the collection of diagnostic samples, application of treatments and assessment of body condition. The final stage of this research process which is taking place from tomorrow will see 125 – 150 of the 200 sampled buffalos being euthanized and to have complete post mortems conducted.

In this process, the researchers will be able to determine the status and the progression of the disease. The process will continue until mid August and will be happening around Lower Sabie and Crocodile Bridge.

I participate because I care - CUSTOS NATURAENo to Hotels in and commercialization of our National Parks.No to Legalized Rhino and Lion trade.Done 159 visits to National Parks.What a wonderful privilege.

What will happen to the cascasses, maybe some more Biltong on the fence at Shingwedzi.

But seriously, keep us updated on the research, we are al very interested, and if possible, could there be a link to some Document on the findings as they go along. Some of us like the scientific stuff.

It will probably be a long project, but I for one would like to follow the happenings.

...interesting as unless I dreamed this up before they have had previous mass killings of these buffaloes for similar Bovine TB studies in the KNP and yet this doesnt seem to be going anywhere from a non scientific point of view.

This will happen time and time again in whats proving to be a giant game farm rather than a national park.

Im all for studies though but the mass mortality does seem excessive - fair enough you need a large sample size but i wonder why so large? DIfferent areas, different habitats?

Furthermore so what if they find what they are looking for? Are we going to vaccinate all buffalo in the KNP against TB so that when the drought years come again they wont die off as a result from TB kiccking in but will have to be culled? From what I understand is that TB is a great disease in getting rid of the weak.

I sometimes feel that we could be interfering too much and when you compare the species composition of the park today compared to 50 years ago, you will see how frightening it is.

Well, there is certainly no shortage of buffalo in the park - and they used to harvest regularly in the old days. I have no problem with them culling 150 as part of their project, if it will help in some way to get rid of/control BTB in the future. And as lesego stated, BTB is not an endemic disease in KNP, it came in from contact with cattle in the past.

Thanks for posting this lesego, it will be interesting to get some feedback in the future on their findings.

hope we will be able to have more buff pies now that there is plenty buff meat around

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away